This invention relates to anastomotic devices and more particularly to a temporary anastomotic device for controlling bleeding from damaged or severed blood vessels and restoring a more normal pattern of circulation.
Trauma is a national epidemic which has only recently been recognized as a major medical problem. In 1982, trauma was the third leading cause of death in the United States following cardiovascular disease and cancer. Morbidity from trauma is estimated at 400,000 in the United States. By plotting death rates from trauma in a frequency over time after injury relationship, a trimodal distribution may be observed. The first peak, characterized as "immediate deaths", represents people who die very soon after an injury. Invariably, these deaths are caused by lacerations of the brain, the brain stem, the spinal cord, the heart, or one of the major blood vessels. The second peak, characterized as "early deaths", represents people who die within the first few hours after an injury. These deaths are usually caused by major internal hemorrhages of the head, the respiratory system, the abdominal organs, or by multiple lesser injuries resulting in severe blood loss. The third peak, characterized as "late deaths", represents people who die days or weeks after an injury, usually from complications resulting from the types of injuries described above. What readily becomes apparent from this type of analysis is that hemorrhage is one of the leading causes of trauma death.